Warrior
by Kixxion
Summary: The Naruto and Freezing worlds are merged in a world where the NOVA have lay their onslaught to humanity. Through Ninja Arts and Technology have humans fought back. Enter the next chapter where the story of the next generations heroes unfolds. Pairings to be decided.
1. Prologue

**Warrior**

**Author Notes:** First fan-fiction so please excuse any slip-ups I make along the way, feel free to comment and make suggestions in the reviews all of which will be greatly appreciated.

**Genres: **Action, Adventure, Comedy (hopefully), Drama, Romance, Sci-fi

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Freezing.

**Prologue**

_The Naruto and Freezing worlds are merged into a new fearsome and war-torn world. The Elemental nations stand united in the battle against the NOVA though remain distrustful of each other in the struggle for dominance. _

_In the time of the Sage of the Six Paths, a godlike immortal being who gave birth to ninjas, an army of alien power shattered the dimensional walls and began a rampage in the world. It devastated the west and upon reaching the east the Sage of the Six Paths intervened in an attempt to defeat the monsters and save the world. He was only partially successful. He defeated the army at the cost of his own life. That was the first incursion. _

_18 Years ago humanity achieved victory against the 5__th__ incursion. They have survived from a combination of the ninja arts the Sage left behind in the East and using the technology from the West, the result of which allows two people to synchronise sharing their abilities between them, sharing senses and allowing telepathic-like communication. These partnerships only work between a male and a female and the relationship between the two is extremely intimate, which also means that in more than 99% of cases they become partners in all meanings of the word. _

_Humanity has also taken to leaning on the support of the monsters of this world, using them proves to be tricky at best as they are sealed within 'Jinchuuriki' whose will wanes the more they rely upon the power of these monsters. However it is a necessary roll of the die Humanity has to take to hold their own._

* * *

**Chapter 0: Introduction**

It was a faint beeping through the darkness and warmth, an irritating beeping. He threw an arm into the coldness of not-under-his-covers to shut it off. After a few swings he landed that much-needed hit and ended the noise. He considered surrendering to the sweet bliss of sleep but before he could make that decision it was made for him and with a thud a weighted bulk landed on him

"Get up dobe" came a stoic voice "You have 15 minutes, then we are leaving and you can't afford to skip anything today, so get moving" he said, his voice heating a little with emphasis towards the end.

"What time is it?" he groaned from beneath his covers

"5:01 and counting" the reply came back among the sounds of his roommate getting dressed.

With a muttered curse he rose like a zombie from his coffin, out from underneath his covers and into the light of day, or rather the figurative light of day as it was still dark which only served to demotivate his waking further.

However being who he was after he hit the shower and got some food in him his energy began to flood in much to the chagrin of his roommate. Within the hour they were on their way to the academy for their first day. He swayed in his seat looking out the window eagerly, not for more than a number of seconds you could count on one hand shutting up about what he was going to do, what it meant to him, what it was leading him towards or a variety of other 'BS' his roommate concluded who merely nodded, said yes or repeated the last word of what he just said to act as though he were listening.

'_Still_' he thought looking up from his book which he was barely reading anyway to look out where the noisy dobe was looking out the window '_I feel the same way. It's both scary yet ineffably exciting. Today is the day we enroll in The academy, everything we've worked for so far the next chapter begins today, where we'll also probably meet our partner_' he thought.

He would never admit it but that was the source of his own fear, socializing and mingling with others was certainly not his forte. He had gotten by thus far on his talents and his family name. Would a partner take those things into consideration? Or the important question, would the kind of partner he wanted take it into consideration? He could only hope. After all, his brothers advice was to be yourself, be polite, courteous and above all resist the urge to be dismissive to anyone no matter how ill-matched you think you are the chances that someone who you will like is watching you and will pick up on it are too high. That was going to be a personal challenge.

Soon enough the train came to a halt and the new comers were met by a strange looking woman with a smile and closed eyes who apparently was actually looking at them.

"Nice to meet you new students!" she chirped happily and loud enough so that all the new boys could hear her "My name is Chiffon Fairchild, I'm the student body president and I will be guiding you today during your induction day. We will begin with a full tour of the academy which as some of you may know is several square kilometres. We will then assign you all your rooms during which time you will also fill in all necessary paper works and finally in the afternoon, the moment many of you are waiting for I'm sure, is when we shall have the convention of the school where you will mingle with both the new female students and already attending students, do your best to make a good first impression!" she finished.

It was only then the blonde noticed that there were only males in their group. He had been about to ask out of sheer impulse but restrained himself already having a good guess at the answer.

'_They really care about everyone getting the chance to make a good first impression_' he guessed, and looking around and the many tired faces he supposed that was a very wise choice.

As they moved through the academy they were introduced to it's many facilities beginning with the cafeteria for breakfast. He regretted immensely having already eaten but it didn't stop him from going for more. They served all different types of cuisine, many of which he didn't recognise as he supposed they were western foods. They proceeded to get the grand tour of the library and study halls, the training facilities that were equipped for all manner of scenarios, the medical centres which they were rather discomforted to hear that they would come to be familiar with it quite soon and finally the leisure centres that, as had all the previous areas of the school, spared no expense.

After several hours their tour though interesting was finally over and they were in turn given their room keys and allowed some time to rest. The blonde fell back on his bed with a sigh and a large grin. It was everything he expected and more. He looked about the room, it was a more than fair sized apartment for a student, clearly the idea was for the students to want for nothing and he had no doubt that would be the case. Still he couldn't shake the thought that it would be weird at first not having a roommate anymore. Not that it was a massive problem though he did 'allow' some of his own mess and duties to fall to the other.

He shook off the thought and smiled when the thought came to his mind that he might want to start thinking about preparing for what came next. Making that all important first impression and finding the one who would become his partner. He grinned.

* * *

**Author Notes:** I probably won't get much/any feedback as of yet but that's all for the first chapter. I'm still deciding on pairings, though they aren't likely to be solid in the next chapter at all, if anyone would like to pose suggestions I am all ears. The story will naturally feature Naruto and his partner as the main characters but also one other pair, likewise if there are preferences as to who I am happy to consider them.

I hope any readers enjoyed what I have written thus far, even if it just the idea/concept that you find entertaining. Later days!


	2. Chapter 1: The Meeting

**Warrior**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Freezing.

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Meeting**

Again he re-adjusted his tie and then examined himself again. He looked himself over in the mirror. His blonde hair was a spiky 'organised chaos' he had told himself, besides it wouldn't look right to have it neatly arranged, that wasn't him and ultimately this was supposed to be an event where you got to know people. There would be no sense in others getting an impression of him that wasn't at all true. His face was clean save for the whisker-like marks on his cheeks. His suit was clean and corrected pressed, black jacket and pants, white shirt and of course the crowning piece; an orange tie. He checked his watch and decided that it was time to go. He would be early but there was no sense in continuing to tweak what looked to be fine.

With one last glance in the mirror he made for the door and pocketing his room key exited the room. They had, in Naruto's opinion, hit the jackpot in that the rooms left vacant for this year's new recruits belonged to the top floor which gave them all a view of some part of the Academy. The floor below them belonged to the now oldest recruits and the floor below again was 3rd year territory, then 2nd year, then the ground floor was comprised of halls, meeting rooms and vending machines from drinks to ice to snacks. He turned down the corridor and entered the elevator. As he descended alone he checked his watch, he'd be nearly a half an hour before the recommended time but then it wasn't as though there was anything better to do, still the trip alone would be boring he thought with a sigh.

* * *

In the spectacularly decorated hall Elizabeth sat scanning through the new recruits on her digital pad, she had wanted to memorize them all by name, however even for her this would be a bit much and so instead she settled for paying special attention to those who interested her. She was the lead organised for this years event and so she had decided it only natural for her to be ready and waiting to greet people as they arrived. The other 3rd years and the 4th would turn up either just in time or just plain late, this was for them a formality that held little to no significance as they were already paired up, and even in the event that they weren't they were most likely to build that sort of relationship up with someone from their own year as through classes and training there was the greater opportunity to develop a bond.

So there she sat alone almost idly scanning through the new recruits and the limited information she had access to. Thus far she had found little of interest to her.

'_Inuzuka Kiba,animalistic combat power, sensory abilities especially smell and advanced canine techniques_' she read to herself in her mind '_I don't think so..._'

'_Akimichi Chōji, body expansion techniques_' She frowned, and looking without thinking, she glanced at her own body, '_No! No, definitely not!_' she thought her teeth clenched snapping her eye up, her cheeks rosy from a feeling of self-inflicted indignation '_Next!_'

What she really needed was some ability that would assist her but also one where the reverse was also true. She hadn't thought her abilities would pose this sort of problem for her when she had discovered them but then being different always comes at a cost. Most people possessed a power suited or even exclusively for close quarters combat and while she could still duo with such a person, she would then have abilities that possessed no synergy. All this considered she was becoming increasingly desperate for a partner, in her first year it wasn't such a big deal, the luck of the draw she had thought, the second year had been downright disappointed but if there was still nobody this year… well perhaps she would simply be better off finding someone in her own year and simply make the appropriate efforts to **make** it work. But she would hate to have to do that after she'd been so stubborn already…

'_Uchiha Sasuke, Sharingan user, summoning techniques, fire & lightning techniques_' her bored face came alive with interest, her eyes widening and her lips parting. She pressed on for further details and her eyes widened further. '_This guy…_´she thought as she looked at his official scores, they were higher than the averaged specialist but in every area. It was in that moment she made the connected and smiled '_I see, so you are Itachi-Sempai's little brother, well that actually makes sense now._' She looked up, her interested smile lighting up her face, he would definitely be one to watch out for. Skilled in every area, has already mastered two natures and possessing such a revered kekkei genkai? The sharingan; it was rumoured to see the future in battle, to be capable of copying whatever it beholds and to see the truth of any illusion. That alone was an ability that would bolster any partner he chose power's enormously but for her adding on those natures he could use would make him the ideal partner for her, the only catch would be catching him first, everyone would be coming after this one.

Just then the door opened and through it entered a very smartly dressed blonde boy. She didn't recognise him at all, but none the less rose to her feet, placing her pad on the table then walked towards him. She sent him a sweet smile and offered him her hand

"Good evening, I'm Elizabeth Mably" as she introduced herself he smiled at her and took her hand shaking it warmly.

"Uzumaki Naruto" he said. She couldn't help but note how brilliantly warm him felt, he had large cerulean eyes, his blonde hair was somewhat messy though it suited him, even for such a formal occasion. Genuine, that was the word that immediately leapt to her mind as they shook hands. He let go and looked about her at the room.

"Wooow, this is some place!" he said in awe. "It must have taken some time to get it looking like this!" She smiled at this, taking it as a compliment to the hard work she had poured in.

"Oh, it did, but this is one of the occasions where it truly merits such hard work" she explained. He looked at her

"You did this?" he asked, clearly surprised.

"Of course I had help, but yes, it was me who planned it if that's what you mean" She again explained this time taking his surprise with a pinch of salt, assuming he wasn't quite as well versed as others in etiquette. He studied her for a moment before nodding, his smile reigniting.

"Well that makes sense I suppose, you can actually tell from looking at you that it was probably you"

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, unsure as to what he was getting at.

"Eh? Well I mean you're dressed up as nicely as you've done the halls" he said in an 'obviously' sort of way. Elizabeth lowered her head and smiled as her cheeks grew warm.

"Thank you for the compliment, Uzumaki-kun"

"I was just telling the truth. To tell the truth" he began "You can probably tell already but I don't know that much about fashion. I just know what I like and what I don't." Elizabeth looked at him for a moment wondering where he was going with it before concluding he was probably the type to just speak his mind. Not everything he said had a point as such.

"Well it was still lovely of you to say so" she said. She checked the clock and continued "Well it seems like you're quite the early bird, shall we sit and talk as we wait for the others?" she asked as she put her hand gently on his back to guide him towards where she had been sitting.

"Sure" he said happy to let her guide him "So where is everybody else?" he asked as he sat down.

"Well they usually all turn up with minutes to spare. Nobody likes being the first to get here and having to wait around for everyone else to turn up" she explained sitting back in her chair.

"Why not? I got here first and I'm glad I did" he smiled earnestly. Again she smiled and lowered her head for a moment, she knew what he was doing. Many before him had tried the same approach. He sure seemed nice enough but she knew nothing about him or his abilities for that matter.

"Oh, and why is that?" she asked, playing along.

"Well for starters I'd say you." He said, she nodded mentally having felt as though she had predicted him perfectly "I get this chance to thank you for putting forth so much effort for everyone. Plus it's sort of nice to know who went that extra mile for you. I guess if I'm honest where this room full it would never have occurred to me to ask about it, so thank you, Elizabeth-sempai" he said with a small bow of his head where he sat.

Elizabeth was looking at him, careful to keep her warm, pleasant smile, but inside she was half confused. She realised what he was saying but that wasn't the sort of thing she was expecting. '_I see_' she thought to herself '_Cut from a different cloth are you?_' She would enjoy coming to understand him; he was proving to be quite the enigmatic boy.

"Secondly, it's an advantage isn't it?" he grinned "I mean, we now get to see everyone coming in" Elizabeth nodded.

"An advantage?" she queried "What sort of an advantage do you feel it gives you?"

"Well for starts I'm guessing most people who are already coupled up will arrive together?" he said looking up as he said it before looking at her. Elizabeth considered for a moment before answering

"That's probably true, though not always" She pointed out, at this Naruto grinned

"Of course, but it's a starting point for a new guy like me" he said pointing to himself "Secondly , you can tell a bit about a person based on when they arrive. For example that you're already here tells me that you're committed and patient." Elizabeth smiled, she liked his logic and had to say, for someone who initially came across as a simple guy, he was a deceptively deep thinker.

"I see, well why don't you turn that powerful perception of yours upon yourself. What does it say about you?" she said with a smile, crossing her legs. Naruto laugh nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Honestly I was just impatient, I'm really excited at the idea of meeting my future partner, meeting all my comrades, soaking in the feel of the atmosphere when the who academy is present" he said with a smile, leading back in his chair as he finished and crossing his fingers behind his head as a cradle to support his head.

"That's a positive attitude, Uzumaki-kun!" came a chirp from behind him. As he whirled around in his seat Elizabeth looked calmly up. Chiffon had arrived it seemed and as always she had interfered with something she had been enjoying. Still her arrival was not at a completely inopportune time as Arnett, Attia and Creo were also entering just at that moment. She stood, drawing Naruto and Chiffon's attention.

"If you'll excuse me, it has been a pleasure to have met you, Uzumaki-kun" She said with a smile and slight bow of her head. Looking at her with widened eyes, unused to the formalities being used he stood and returned her smile

"The pleasure was mine, Elizabeth-sempai" he said with a chuckle, he returned the bow and Elizabeth taking her pad off the table with her, left to meet her group of friends. Sitting back down he thought briefly that he would never really get used to those formalities, but still he would probably do well to obey them to the letter for now. Chiffon moved around Naruto and took Elizabeth's now vacant seat to sit in front of Naruto.

"Well I guess it's just us for now" she said with her usual and ever-present smile "Though it won't be long now before people begin to arrive." Naruto grinned at her.

"Can't wait" was his reply.

"That's some confidence you have, Uzumaki-kun. Aren't you the least bit nervous?" she asked, leaning forwards in interest.

"No way!" Naruto declared with a fierce smile "Today is the day I meet the person who I am going to partner up with, I can feel it!" he finished, holding a hand to his chest. Chiffon looked at him curiously for a moment before letting loose a single chuckle.

"I think you have a very rare confidence. Your partner will be a lucky lady!" she said with a pause "What sort of person will she be I wonder?" she asked, raising a finger to her lips and looking up, her lips parted. Naruto leant back in his seat and linked his fingers and hands together behind his head once more, leaning his head back into the cradle.

"I don't know…" He said trailing off for a moment before adding "Someone who doesn't give up" he added with a grin, as much to himself as to Chiffon. He then looked at her, this time taking her appearance in. She wore an elegant beige dress that was both revealing of her quite lovely figure, yet conservative as it did not reveal an overly abundant amount of flesh.

'_She really is very pretty_' he thought to himself. He began to wonder if all the girls here would be this attractive when her voice interrupted his line of thought.

"It's only natural for you to be curious about a girls body but" she said covering herself with her arms "you should be less obvious about it, Uzumaki-kun" she said, with a semi mischievous grin. Naruto immediately gasp, and broke his relaxed posture and bowed his head before her.

"I'm Sorry!" he blurted out "I wasn't- I mean I didn't mean to stare- I was-" he fumbled for the right words to explain himself silently cursing a certain pervert with whom he likely picked up several bad habits.

"It's alright, I realise you weren't staring intentionally with perverse thoughts" she said, lowering her arms. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. '_Of all people the student body president?_' he thought aghast.

Chiffon giggled; surprised he was such a sensitive boy. Her smile widened as she realised she could have a lot of fun with this, but there would be a time and a place for such things. For now she would indulge her curiousity as that was this evening is about after all.

"So am I right in thinking that Elizabeth has caught your eye, Uzuamki-san?" she asked innocently, leaning to one side to look past him and at the girl in question.

"Elizebath-Sempai?" he repeated confused "You're saying…" he said with a pause, adding one and one together "she doesn't have a partner?" he finished with a confused frown.

"She doesn't" Chiffon confirmed "She has been waiting patiently for someone who is compatible with her specialism" Naruto folded his arms in thought

"That must be some specialism" he said, attempting to imagine what sort of power she might have that would require her to worry solely about it.

"The way you two were talking I was thinking that you two might be getting along" she said.

"Well yeah, but I mean I didn't even realise that she… I guess that's why she was alone to begin with?" he asked, looking at Chiffon in search of the answer who waved it off.

"Oh no, she's quite committed that's all. See that group of girls? They are what you might call her circle. They are rarely seen without the company of one another, but even so Elizabeth was he for a good while before them because of her dedication." She explained. Naruto nodded as she spoke but he couldn't help but notice something else from what she said.

"I understand now. So those girls are her friends, but what about yourself?" he asked. Chiffon was caught offguard with that little comment.

"Well I wouldn't say we aren't friends…" she began to purposely misdirect the question but Naruto was already onto her.

"No, no, I mean, why are you here so early? Is being the student body president something to do with it?" he pressed. Chiffon let loose a inaudible sigh of defeat, he had caught her out.

"No, I suppose I am like you, I am just trying to get a better look at who is new and my eagerness in this caused me to arrive earlier than most" she admitted.

"So you aren't spoken for either?" Naruto asked incredulously.

"Nope" Chiffon admitted with a mild shrug of her shoulders. Naruto could only look at her, clearly there was something he hadn't been getting about the whole partnering deal. He knew it was more than just a case pf liking the person on a physical level, but that was surely a part of it he felt. He also knew it was a case of compatibility, you wanted someone whose abilities would synchronise with your own, the pervy sage had emphasised this quite firmly with him. But wasn't that it? Elizabeth sounded as though she had perhaps an unusual ability, which he guessed could make it difficult to find someone for that reason but Chiffon too? Either they remarkably both had a difficult power to set or there was something he wasn't getting and that latter idea was beginning to make him nervous.

"How could that be?" he found himself asking before he could apply his brain to mouth filter.

"Well I suppose I haven't met that person yet." She replied simply. Naruto smiled at her in effort to be reassuring, but inside he was rattling his brain trying to figure it out.

"I'm sure you'll meet him soon" was all he could think to say.

* * *

"So, whose blondie over there?" Arnett asked gesturing to the whisker cheeked boy now speaking with Chiffon. Elizabeth glanced behind her, back at the boy before turning to the group again to answer.

"Uzumaki Naruto. To be honest I'm not really sure about him. He's certainly… different though" she said with a thoughtful pause and a secret smile. Arnett cocked an eyebrow and leant forward

"Ehhhh?" she teased "Is Elizabeth interested in the new boy?" she continued to tease. Elizabeth gave nothing away and instead began to fiddle with her pad.

"Perhaps" she said coolly "Though I don't know anything about his abilities, it would be tough for him to beat Uchiha Sasuke in that respect" she stated matter-of-factly. This got the roups attention with a unanimous gasp and a momentary widening of the eyes.

"An Uchiha?" Attia questioned immediately. Not looking up from her typing, Elizabeth merely nodded.

"There'll be stiff competish for him" Arnett said with a grin.

"But Elizabeth can get him if that's what she wants" Attia insisted in a tone that screamed 'of course'.

"Depends on the boy and his own tastes" Arnett argued playfully "Besides, it also depends what he's like"

"He's Uchiha Itachi's younger brother" Elizabeth commented which earned another shocked pause this time longer than before.

"Result" Arnett she bringing her hands together as though she were talking about money.

"An Uchiha would make for an excellent partner with anyone" Creo thought aloud. Elizabeth nodded in response.

"Exactly, that's why although he seems like an obvious pick, the same is true for everybody. As such cultivating alternative possibilities is going to be as important. I cannot guarantee he would find my own abilities something he would like, nor that our personalities will be…. Compatible" she explained, not for once looking up from her pad at which she was now frowning at.

"I see" said Attia "So this Uzumaki kid..?" she added, now more interested what was causing Elizabeth to frown than the exciting prospect of another elite Uchiha.

"That's what I am trying to find out" she said "I can access his basic page, but his previous examination results are all off the record and even his tags are… unclear" she said turning her page around so the group could read it.

Before them the picture of the boy sitting across the room was clearly him, the name Uzumaki Naruto was also shown but some of the bullet points where blank, which indicated that they didn't possible the authority to view the information. What was listed however was almost hilariously numerous for a supposed 'basic abilities' list. Most recruits at this point would have anywhere between just 1 and 3, with the rare exception posing four. Not including the blanked tags, Naruto had 6, including them he had 8.

"Shadow Clone user, Wind Nature User, Summoning techniques, Shape Manipulation Master, Regenerative abilities, Secondary Chakra User" Attia read aloud.

"Secondary Chakra?" Arnett echoed with obvious confusion "What does that even mean?" he asked with a shrug.

"I'm not sure, but regenerative abilities?" Creo asked "Like the Immortal Roxanne do you think?"

"It's unlikely" Elizabeth said, turning her pad back to face herself "That ability is one of a kind, but still they wouldn't include it if it weren't relevant to us. What I am curious about are the 'Secondary Chakra User' and 'Shape Manipulation'. I get what they must mean by both but even so there's a lot of room for misinterpretation. Both have the potential to be very compatible for me, but also to be totally worthless to me" she said with a mild frustration.

"Don't worry about it too much, after all isn't their first carnival this week anyway?" Arnett said with a smile "Seems to me we'll get to see what all of this means then" Elizabeth smiled and turned her pad off.

"You're right, I must say I am looking forward to seeing what he can do" she said, glancing behind her once again at the blonde boy.

'_You intrigue me further, Uzumaki Naruto_' she thought while smiling.

* * *

Naruto found himself in the arms of a different girl every few minutes. This dance involved trading partners frequently which was great in that it allowed him to meet someone new every few minutes, but between being too focused on the dance and how quickly they changed it wasn't like he got to say much. He wasn't about to complain though, the room was filled with pretty girls. Some talked and talked, others where more quite and reserved. Most he also had never met, others he recalled from a few years ago when they were in the basic ninja academy together. Sakura was even more beautiful than before, even Ino had become quite an attractive girl.

Partners swapped again. A few steps and a new pair of hands in his own Naruto found a long, red haired girl in his arms, older than him clearly though he didn't know her he had seen her earlier in the evening with Elizabeth.

"Well hiya Naruto" she cooed with a grin. He returned the smile awkwardly

"Hey, er, you're Elizabeth-Sempai's friend, right?" he asked uncertainly.

"That I am, I'm Arnett and it's a pleasure to meet you" she said as she danced.

"Nice to meet you, Arnett-Sempai" he greeted nervously. He noted how confidently and quickly she moved, she was a much more aggressive dancer than anyone else so far.

"So you have some of us girls pretty interested, Naruto" she purred, causing Naruto to turn pink.

"Eh?" he said, struggling to keep up with the pace with the turn of the conversation.

"Well you're quite the enigma!" she laughed "Why are all your results unlisted?"

"Oh, well" he said pausing as he spun her "I guess because I didn't train under a jounin here."

"Ohh? So where did you train?" she asked as he took her back in his arms, for the close part of the dance. Feeling daring Naruto smiled

"That would be telling" he grinned. Arnett laughed

"So you can play after all!" she said leaning close "I like that"

Before Naruto had the chance to think of anything to reply with she moved out from his armed and he found someone new in her place moments later. This time it was a dark haired girl with pale eyes.

"Hey" he grinned and as he looked at her he was overcome with the strongest feeling of déjà vu. He knew this girl

"H-h-hey" she stammered back, moving to the barest amounts, clearly uncomfortable.

"I'm Naruto, but I get the feeling we've met before haven't we?" he said apologetically. The girl in his arms nodded but said nothing for a few moments

"I-I'm Hinata" she said so quietly he could barely hear her. It clicked and he knew instantly who she was

"Hinata?!" he exclaimed "That's really you, Hinata?" She looked up at his surprised and semi alarmed by his reaction

"You look really different from how I remember you! You look great with your hair longer like this" he smiled then focused back on the dancing unaware of her turning from pale to pink to red. Suddenly she moved away, off the dance floor before they were supposed to. Unsure of what just happened he took it as an opportunity to sit down. Chiffon caught his eye as she sat away from the dance floor but looked over at it, almost longingly so he moved to sit by her.

"Uzumaki-kun, you sure have some moves" she said in almost awe. Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"You think? I was just doing what everyone else was doing" he said nervous that she was just being polite. It was then he noticed two other girls on the table. One with long dark hair who sat next to Chiffron with a hand raised in front of her mouth and a blonde girl with glasses who sat as far away as the table would allow.

"Ah, where are my manners, this is Ticy Phenyl" she said, gesturing to the shy girl next to her "This is Uzumaki, Naruto" she said then gesturing back to Naruto.

"Hello" Ticy said barely over the sound of the music.

"Hey" Naruto responded with a nod of his head.

"And this is Satellizer L. Bridget." Chiffon said, sounding almost nervous to Naruto "Uzumaki Naruto" she finished, trailing off in volume towards the end. The girl looked at Naruto with almost a bored, disdainful expression.

"Hey" Naruto said with a smile, trying to overcome the crushing feeling of "I don't want to be here at all" he was feeling overwhelmed by from the girl.

"Hi" she said curtly. As Naruto saw her she had the look for the teenager who was stuck listening to their parents for an unfortunate amount of time and really wanted nothing more than to slink back into her room and forget the event every occurred. He wasn't sure whether to sympathise with her or be annoyed at her rudeness.

"So is your partner making you stick around?" he asked her, in an effort to liberate her from boredom.

"I don't have a partner" she replied simply.

"Oh." Naruto said unsure of what to add to that. She certainly was making no effort to find one that was for sure.

"Why not?" Naruto ventured, he realised it was pretty direct and possibly rude but then she didn't seem to mind, so why not he figured.

"I don't like being touched, so no one can partner with me" she replied in a monotone.

"Eh? You don't like being touched?" He repeated, confused.

"No" She replied flatly. Naruto looked at Chiffon who seemed a little too interested in the table cloth before looking back at Satellizer.

"You're a bit weird, aren't you?" he pointed out unashamedly. She looked at him with a fixed look, and Chiffon gasped and waved her hands frantically

"What a thing to say, Uzumaki-kun!" she said, clearly horrified "Don't pay him any mind, he's a bit too familiar sometimes!" she said to Satellizer in a hurried and nervous way.

"The same goes for you too" Satellizer said coolly.

Blue eyes met blue eyes and they both stared at each other for a minute or so before Naruto looked away

"Chiffon, you're right" he said with a defeated sigh "I was out of line to say that to you, I'm sorry" he said looking back at Satellizer. She didn't reply at first and simply continued to look at him

"It's fine, everyone else thinks what you said anyway, even if they don't admit it." She said looking away.

That last statement bothered Naruto more than he'd like.

"Well who cares what everyone else thinks. Do whatever the hell makes you happy. That's what I always do" he said, leaning back in his chair. Chiffon leaned forward to look at him intently.

"What?" he asked, confused. Slowly she raised her arms to cover herself as though she were naked

"Oh nothing…" she replied slowly.

"Oh come on that wasn't what it looked like!" Naruto cried, springing back to life again.

* * *

**Author Notes**: That's all for now, like I said before, new writer so any and all feedback is appreciated if you could leave reviews with anything good or bad (though if it's bad let's make it Constructive criticism please!). I also need a proof reader so yeah, if anyone is interested please let me know via Private Message!

Thank you all and I hope you are enjoying it or at least didn't feel it was a total waste of time! ^^'


	3. Chapter 2: The Bet

**Warrior**

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**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Freezing.

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**Chapter 2: The Bet**

With a thud Naruto thumped his alarm clock to silence the dreadful beeping. He lay in his bed for a moment thinking about the previous day. It had definitely been a good one, everything he had expected and then much more. Though he had hoped to have a someone in mind who stood out to him as 'the one' he didn't mind too much as several girls had left an impression on him. He would simply have to spend more time with each of them to find out who it would be. He got out of bed an began his morning routine to prepare for the day ahead without further delay.

A half an hour later he wondered into the cafeteria for breakfast having decided that it would be best to make the effort to socialise at every opportunity for the time being. Plus who knew who he might run into.

He scoured the available food, hoping to hit the jackpot and find ramen. Not too surprisingly he was left disappointed but settled for what they had happily enough. As he looked around the largely vacant hall for someone to sit with he recognised a certain blonde figure sitting in the corner by herself. He made a b line toward her and sat himself across from her, earning him a bewildered look from the girl in question.

"Good Morning" he greeted cheerfully as he picked up a piece of toast "Itadakimasu" he mumbled before biting.

"Morning" Satillizer replied confusion evident in her voice.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked looking at her uncertainly. She didn't reply at first, instead trying to think of something to say that might persuade him to leave her alone.

"You're a pretty quiet person, aren't you?" he said offhandedly

"I guess" she replied, picking up her food she decided she would try ignoring him for the time being.

"So how is it going to work with a partner for you?" he asked bluntly, not pausing from eating. She did and just looked at him from across the table.

"I don't…" she began

"I mean, I get that you have an issue with being touched but, I mean does that apply to everyone? What about with animals? Never had a pet?" He continued between mouthfuls.

"No, and I guess so" she said, answering as the thoughts came to her. "Anyway, why do you care?" she blurted out, not really meaning it but her patience was being pushed by this annoying blonde.

"I dunno" he admitted "I guess I think it's kinda sad" he said looked upwards in consideration.

"Sad?" she repeated, the rising annoyance temporarily quelled by the unexpectedness of his answer.

"Well if what I am told is true; partners understand each other in a way nobody else ever will, they share everything and are devoted to one another. I personally can't wait to experience that!" he said happily but then the warmth of his expressed faded and he looked at her directly.

"I can't even imagine not aiming for it to be honest" he finished. He couldn't help but think of his own childhood and the abyss of loneliness that he had lived in. He met precious people since then and he was confident Satellizer had her own but still, he had never imagined a future of himself where he didn't have somebody who he would come to love.

"Don't judge me by your own standards" Satellizer snapped as she stood. Naruto blinked at her outburst but said nothing. With that she walked away leaving Naruto looking after her. He wasn't stupid enough to not realise he had touched a nerve and while he felt guilty for hurting or offending her, he couldn't see how the path she was on would end up good for her. He shuddered to think where he might be had he stayed that course up until now.

Satellizer seethed with anger, she felt her knuckles crack just at how tightly she clenched her fists. She felt like he was looking down at her, like at a damaged item with pity. It infuriated her how he had looked at her. Those eyes as though he had the slightest idea who she was. She didn't care about how most people thought of her because they didn't try to understand her which was the same as not even seeing her to begin with. It was easy to forget your loneliness when you are a ghost. To have it brought up so directly by someone she didn't even know was a situation she didn't know how to deal with nor prepared for.

* * *

Elizabeth had been silently reflecting on the previous days events throughout her morning. Though taking some unexpected turns she felt as though it had gone quite well. Finally her ship had come in, as there were several candidates in the new class that would be quite compatible with her ability wise and a handful of these thus far seemed to be guys she could get along with. Two in particular had her special attention.

Uchiha Sasuke was everything the rational part of her could ask for. His capabilities as an Uchiha would be great but it was his sheer talent as an individual that made his truly desirable. He had mastered two elemental natures, even for an Uchiha to do so by the age of 15-16 was quite a feat. His abilities ranged from greatly proficient at close quarters, mid-range and long range, which to Elizabeth meant that is would be perfectly possible for him to specialise into long and mid-range. He was even gifted in the arts of Genjutsu. Having met him yesterday also she saw that he was quite professionally minded like herself. He was composed and calculating much like herself and his main drive from what she could discern was his ambition to rival his brother. While she was sceptical of his chances of being another Itachi, she loved that he was setting the bar that high.

While on paper his abilities and personality were both a dream-like match for her there was one little thorn in this picture and it had blonde hair and blue eyes.

Naruto had been an unexpected yet welcome surprise for Elizabeth. He was quite a unique individual to put it delicately. He initially came across as another loud idiot who would soon be put in his place. However having dealt with many of these types of people before she couldn't ignore that her instincts told her this wasn't the case with this boy. Some of the things he had said didn't fit the profile and he had surprised her on more than one occasion with what he had been thinking which was another indicator that she had been misjudging him. Yet these wouldn't really serve as a distraction for her were it not for that feeling she had during their first conversation. She couldn't quite put it into words. She didn't feel a particular romantic attraction to him and his abilities though impressively numerous didn't appeal to her anywhere nearly as much as Sasuke's even if she considered the greatest potential of the vague descriptions. So what was it?

She rubbed her forehead absentmindedly as she turned to look out the window.

The other question of course was that of the competition. For Sasuke she was well aware, even as appealing as she may seem as a more experienced recruit, the reality was that any girl who was hoping to bag him would be playing long odds. Between this and her lamenting the thought of chasing a boy she had to admit that unless he were drawn to her she wasn't sure she would be lulled into playing such games even if that meant that he would slip through her finger s. She wouldn't besmirch her dignity by being drawn into such childish competitions.

Unfortunately she was beginning to suspect that there may be some competition for Naruto also, which could potentially explode depending on the results of their first carnival. He wasn't widely sought after and most people didn't even know who he was despite how loud he was. However she had noticed that both Arnett and Chiffon had both been quite glad to have his attention after their first speaking yesterday. The other problem was the rumour that Roxanne Elipton was transferring to this academy. Though she only had one meeting of her to go by, Roxanne from her memory would be quite a good match personality wise with Naruto. In any case she made up her mind on the spot that she would have to get friendly with Naruto before the carnival so that she wasn't potentially forgotten about should he prove himself to be as interesting in battle as he was out of it.

"You look pretty deep in thought" Arnett said pulling her back to the present.

"Oh, I suppose I was" she said turning away from the window to face her friend.

"Thinking about anyone in particular?" Arnett said with a smirk. Elizabeth knew better than to take the bait and instead said nothing and faced forward. After realising she wasn't going to respond Arnett decided another route.

"Did you know that the Untouchable Queen and Naruto had been speaking?" she said, purposely casually. Elizabeth turned to look at her friend a little too quickly causing Arnett to have to hide her own little smile.

"No? Well it seems they spoke last night and even had breakfast this morning together. Though she didn't seem too happy with him when she left" she explained, her tone laced with glee. Elizabeth turned back forward but looked at her hands infront of her.

"That's unexpected." She stated simply "I never expected her to take an interest in… well anyone" she said thoughtfully. Arnett made an audible hum to show her doubt to that idea.

"I'm wondering if it's just the other way around. After all he doesn't know about he reputation." She said. "Someone should probably tell him about her before he gets hurt" Arnett finished, feigning innocence. Elizabeth had to hold in the scoff at her attempts to tempt her.

"That's probably true." She began simply "Well, since you seem to be keeping tabs on him anyway, perhaps you should warn him" she offered plainly. She resisted a smile as she could practically hear Arnett's expression crack. Arnett would never admit it, as she considered only the spoilt rich girls, predominantly coming from the west to be so, but she was a very proud girl when it came to certain topics. When you exposed her in the way she just had, Arnett became flustered, embarrassed and a little bit angry, but it was also often very funny to behold.

"Wha-Tabs?!" she tried to laugh off "I was merely at the right place at the right time"

"Looking in the right direction. Both times." Elizabeth added, her smile beginning to form "How coincidental" By now she could boil her tea by placing her cup on Arnett's head. Her face was beginning to match her hair in colour.

"Sh-shut up, I have to go now" she said, rising quickly and hurrying off.

As amused as Elizabeth was now she couldn't help but also feel a tinge of weariness at the news there could be another player in the game.

'_Well nothing is ever easy_' she told herself with a mental sigh.

* * *

Chiffon began to thumb through the schedule she had been asked to present to the first years. It was the list of the major events that they would be participating in over the next few weeks. She however found that this year would be host to several experimental events, forced through by someone she didn't know nor recognise, Danzo. The details he had were far from complete and she could only haphazardly guess at their true meaning. Even the carnival was being played this time was in a format she had never seen before though this one she at least understood somewhat.

She flicked back through to the beginning of her sheets to now go through them in detail. The more she read the more it become apparent to her that these new events were all being setup so there would be less cause for fights outside of events. That was, more than the outside of the academies world would ever know, actually something of a problem. A fight would likely break out once or twice a week, though the campus was large enough that you would only likely see a fifth or less of them. The problem was that only during the events where the appropriate medical staff ready, when people took battles into their own hands they unwittingly took with it a far greater chance for permanent injuries. While she always condemned these battles she would be lying if she said she didn't understand them. This was after all a school where people ages between 15 to 20 came to learn and study fighting and the arts of battle. Many people here had vastly contrasting view on what was worth fighting for which made it difficult to understand each other's feelings at times. To top it all off it was a place where love ran rampant, everyone desperate to find their life partner.

The recipe was about as stable as filling cheerleaders batons with nitroglycerin. It might be fun to watch, but you really didn't want to get too close.

There were so many newly implemented changes that she barely had the time to familiarise herself with it before it was time to meet up with the class of the 1st years and explain it to them.

When she arrived she couldn't help but notice that there were a few faces around the study hall that were not part of the class. From the upper level she noticed Elizabeth and her group looking down over the glass railing, She hadn't realised that the word had spread like wildfire that the entire makeup of the new year would be different.

"Good afternoon everyone" she called cheerfully, quietening the groups chatter as all eyes focused on her. "This afternoon I am going to give you a breakdown of the events that you'll have no doubt heard about before now so please listen carefully." She waiting for the last of the talk had settled before continuing.

"As many of you have heard at the end of this week you will all be participating in your first event, one that we call the 'Carnival'. They are usually a free for all battle taking place in one of our facilities here; you may have seen footage of previous carnivals as some of the footage is available on our system." She said with a gesture to nothing in particular. Murmurs began to break out but she silenced them all with her next sentence.

"Your Carnival however will not be the same. Your class will be subject to a new arena, format and points scoring system. In 3 days, at 12 noon half of you will enter the 'Forest of Death' the arena for your carnival. For each person defeated one more shall be deployed in the zone randomly. Lastly four of you will randomly hold a part of a key. If someone is able to form all pieces of this key they will score a large point bonus and be rewarded after the Carnival." She finished, allowing for the group to chatter amongst themselves with this new information.

"That's some Carnival" Attia said quietly.

"Sounds needlessly complicated if you ask me" Arnett said looking down with a mild scowl "What's with the alterations? Does it really make a difference?"

"Of course" Elizabeth said from where she leant against the wall, arms folded "The changes are to prevent people from settling their feuds in the Carnival. Even assuming that someone you want to defeat is in it from the beginning, you have no way of knowing that. Also someone could be deployed anywhere, you couldn't afford the luxury of seeking someone out." Arnett looked at Elizabeth, processing what she had just said.

"Won't that just increase the number of fights outside of the Carnivals?" she asked confused, "Plus what's the deal with that key? The ranking system was supposed to be about strength!" she finished, clenching a fist in front of her as she said 'strength'.

"Maybe it will, but I doubt these are the only new things to be implemented so who knows. The deal with the key is strange though. This is similar to a test I once heard a Konoha organization called 'Root' do, though that involved scrolls. But then they are a counter-ninja organization. Does this mean that is the direction they are going now?" she mused vocally, her expression hardening. Before anyone could comment on these observations Chiffon began talking again.

"Another new change your class will be experimenting with will be the Amphitheatre." She said "It is a new building on campus that will host games once per week. These games shall take the form of a one on one battle. Candidates will be taken from voting, volunteers and lastly challenges. Voting as you might imagine will be the results of your classes mandatory votes, the two most popular each week will have their match. Volunteers are self-explanatory and they may take the place of someone who is voted or challenged though at the cost of points from the person they are protecting. Lastly the Challenges are battles between a challenger and one who accepts their challenge. You may refuse a challenge but automatic points are taken from that person and given to the challenger." Again she paused, this time the conversation was much louder. Arnett grinned.

"Well now, that seems like fun, too bad we don't get a piece of that" she said with a short laugh.

"Be careful what you wish for" Creo cautioned beside her "It's a nice idea to control unorganised battles, but now the rankings can change outside of the carnivals, plus there are now ways to lose points." She stated coolly, her arms folded.

"Oh yeah, that sucks" Arnett realised "So I guess it's always better to accept the challenge, to protect your own points."

"You say that but this is called the Amphitheatre. Meaning the whole academy could be watching" Elizabeth said "In that situation what if Chiffon challenged you?" she asked hypothetically. Arnett didn't turn her head and remained silent.

Elizabeth wasn't sure she liked these challenges. Carnivals were brutal but they were infrequent at least and she could see how they were a necessary evil to break students into the feeling of an actual battle. This new system must have been designed by some sort of sadist.

"For further details and updates on all events I recommend you keep up to date with our events schedule on your computers!" Chiffon finished with a bow, moving away from the front of the group and sitting herself down amongst them.

"So the question has to be asked" Arnett said, turning around leaning backwards on the railing "The Uchiha or Blondie?" she asked excitedly. She looked around the group her eyes staying on Elizabeth a moment longer than the others.

"Uchiha" Attia said after a few seconds silence. Arnett grinned and leaned toward her

"Go on" she said. Attia shrugged

"Well we know the Uchiha is going to be strong, we don't really know anything about Uzumaki. He's probably going to be good but just 'good'? That's a far cry from an Uchiha." She said closing her eyes and folding her arms towards the end.

"Don't you think you might be overestimating him?" Creo asked "It's easy for us who have seen Itachi-sempai fight to misjudge an Uchiha. After all a genius like that comes along only once in a generation." She finished looking down at Sasuke below.

"So you're saying Uzumaki?" Arnett asked with interest, her excited smile still present.

"Maybe" Creo said not taking her eyes off the raven haired boy

"Come on…" Arnett complained "If you had to pick one" Creo's lips twisted as she considered

"Probably the Uchiha, I just don't think he'll be anything like Itachi-sempai" She said reluctantly. Arnett laughed before turning her eyes to Elizabeth.

"Well?" she asked expectantly. Elizabeth looked at her, her expression as cool as ice.

"As much as I admit Naruto-kun has interested me, I'm not going to ignore the facts as I see them. In this Carnival he would have to outperform an Uchiha, one whose brother set records in which even the smiling monster hasn't beaten yet." She stopped herself at what she was about to say, but with an inward note that she would probably regret what she was about to say, she decided to say it anyway "That said, I'll be rooting for Naruto-kun, I hope he does very well." She finished.

"So you do like him, eh?" Arnett teased with a knowing grin. Elizabeth looked away.

"I like what I have seen" she replied simply.

"Well, I think you're all mistaken." She said maintaining her smile "I'm betting that he'll flatten that Uchiha brat!" she finished energetically with a uppercut motion held into a flex of her arm.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Attia asked with a scowl.

"Well I've actually met them both. Yeah that Sasuke kid seem like he's pretty good. But Naruto's got 'It'" she asserted with a nod.

"'It'?" Attia repeated.

"Yep, 'It'" Arnett confirmed.

"You said you're betting… betting what exactly?" Attia then said with her own smile coming on now. Arnett blinked, it had just been an expression but she was also confident about her prediction.

"I don't know, what did you have in mind?" Arnett asked without really thinking.

"Oh… I have some ideas" Attia said innocently, her smile growing to a mischievous grin.

Below Chiffon sat waiting patiently for the class to disperse answering any questions she was asked in the meantime. She didn't really know what to make of the new system herself only that she was as curious as most others in seeing what kind of an effect it would have, particularly on the competitively of the rankings. She could see the top spots being a fierce struggle.

"Hey Chiffon-sempai" a familiar voice came. As she looked she saw Naruto sitting himself next to her.

"Ah, hello Naruto-kun" she greeted happily "How are you settling in so far?"

"Very well thanks" Naruto said with a nod and a thumbs up "Sort of beginning to worry more about these events you were talking about just now though" he said with a nervous laugh.

"Ah, yes well don't worry about those too much. Do your best and the rest will fall into place!" she said cheerily with a raised finger.

"Yeah, I intend to!" he responded enthusiastically. "Still, I wasn't aware at how big a deal the rankings were here"

"Oh, well they are the pride of each student I think. Those in the top positions often come to be greatly respected. Though everyone fights for different reasons." she said. Naruto nodded in agreement and his thoughts temporarily shifted to a boy with ice jutsu who had taught him a valuable lesson once.

"Any advice you can impart or would it be unfair to give me any and not everyone else?" he asked cheekily with a grin. Chiffon's smile grew.

"Well maybe I could say Something" she began leaning in closer. Naruto naturally lent in closer too expecting her to whisper some secret to him. "Good luck, Uzumaki-kun!" she whispered before breaking out into a fit of giggles. Naruto was less amused.

* * *

**Author Notes:** I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have been making a conscious effort to try to improve the dialog so it seems more natural and in character so thank you for that feedback Mzr90. Please continue to leave me constructive criticism everyone, thank you!

P.S – Still looking for a beta reader, please PM me if you are interested. Thanks in advance!


	4. Chapter 3: The Carnival Begins

**Warrior**

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**Author Notes: **Thank you all again for your reviews, they have been noted. Just to put this out there and make it clear; This will be a single pair and it will be with a girl from Freezing.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Freezing.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Carnival Begins**

It was still gloomy when Naruto woke up. The light of the new day had barely begun to creep into the world and as he rose and looked out of the window the world was coloured only in shades of grey and blackness. He was still tired but after waking up on a day like today there was no chance of his resuming sleeping again. After all, today was the day of the carnival.

As soon as the water from the shower hit him he began to feel his senses come online for the day. Barely an instant seemed now to have pasted between Chiffon making her announcement and this moment, yet he had doubt that it might feel like an eternity before the carnival began. He had been trying to make notes of his classmates but it was impossible to say from looking at most of the what their various strengths and weaknesses were, especially since they had begun to wear uniforms. He knew Sasuke to be strong. Forget that he was the head of the ninja academy and far ahead any of the people riding in second in each category, Naruto knew it in his bones that Sasuke was his rival. No, in fact to date Sasuke was nemesis, as he had never once beaten him at anything at all.

He raised his head and closed his eyes to allow the water to crash onto his face. There was also his former love interest, Sakura to think about. He never really knew much about her actual combat abilities, but regardless he was aware she had been studying under Tsunade over the past few years which meant she had all the opportunities that he himself had. Well that wasn't quite true, but it was close enough to count.

He began to think of all the people he knew about and they would all prove to be difficult in different ways though none of them alone would compare as a threat to Sasuke. What he really had to be mindful of were those he did not know. Though each a threat to him it was a different game entirely when he knew someone's abilities. When he didn't though was when it became a dangerous game.

He stepped out of the shower and his body began to move on its own. As he finished dressing he looked at himself in the mirror. Even if they were friends he had to go all out, and hold nothing back. After all to go easy on anyone would not only be foolish to his personal safety but there was nothing more disrespectful he could do to them. With a deep breath he turned and made for the door.

He walked through the campus with no particular destination in mind. It was too early for breakfast yet, even now the sun had yet to peek over the horizon. He soon found himself in the track stadium. He moved towards the benches and sat himself down at the back on the top, looking over the stadium. If he had any, he realised right about now he would be calling his parents, he would freak out over the phone and ask them their advice. Even though he couldn't he found just the idea of it settling. His mother would rage right back at him for waking her so early in the morning, she would tell him she'd give him something to be scared of. His father would mediate between the two and impart some encouraging words before hanging up and trying to settle his mother.

He smiled to himself. Well whatever they might have said to him, he would just have to make them proud and tell them the story in the next life. At that moment the golden rays of the sun shone over the horizon. He raised a hand to cover his eyes as his smiled widened.

"Watch me, mom, dad. I'll carry on your legacy"

* * *

As he finally made his way to the cafeteria he saw it surprisingly full for this time of day. Looking about he realised most people present were the first years. Many of the older students were in conversation to the juniors, likely giving advice. As he looked about for someone to sit by he found himself grinning when he saw Sasuke. He was sitting alone and seemed to be absorbed by a newspaper. With a smirk Naruto approached him.

"Ah, Sasuke, good morning" he greeted innocently. Sasuke looked up and returned the smirk

"Well, well, if it isn't the dobe" he said mockingly. Naruto faked a laugh

"So funny. So what's that you have? Soup?" he asked, pointing at Sasuke's breakfast. Sasuke glanced at it before looking back at Naruto suspiciously.

"No, it's broiled fish..." he said uncertainly despite himself.

"You're not having soup? I think you should try the soup" Naruto said with a furrowed brow, folding his arms in apparent confusion. Sasuke was lost but aware he was on his way towards one of Naruto's lame jokes.

"Why would I have soup?" he asked, the confusion now in his eyes as well as his voice as he shook his head slightly as he spoke.

"Well I figured you might want to start getting used to eat soup. After all, that's all you'll be eating for weeks after today!" Naruto finished with glee before proceeding to walk off in search of his own breakfast. Sasuke closed his eyes and shook his head, silently ashamed of himself for calling that his closest friend.

Naruto looked about the place, wondering what he felt like eating. As he did so his attention was drawn by the large queue for the Burger Queen. He let out a low whistle, silently judging the people who actually wanted a burger for breakfast with a downcast headshake. As he beheld it however suddenly there was a commotion as people began to scurry out the way. As he looked around for the source of the commotion he saw Satellizer approaching. She acted calmly as though people were not in fact fleeing for what seemed to be their very lives before her. To Naruto it was quite a scene. He looked around the hall to see if anyone else was seeing this. But to his amazement it seemed they either weren't or rather they didn't seem to care. She simply walked through the now parted crowd, said something to the girl working the till, money exchanged hands, then food did and off she went. The crowds resumed a jostling crowd a dozen orders being made at once. It was quite a spectacle. Satellizer was half way out of the door before Naruto began chasing after her.

He caught up with her on the roof. She sat around the corner eating her food in the shade. Naruto had to admit that was pretty strange.

"Satellizer-sempai?" he asked. She looked up surprised to see him.

"Oh, it's you" she said in a way where Naruto could practically feel her deflate.

"Y-Yeah" he said nervously, moving towards her and sitting beside her "Look I just wanted to apologise about the things I said the other day. I realise now that I was out of line to speak to you the way I did" he said apologetically

"Anyway I was wondering if you could forgive me for that" he asked, looking at her. She met his eyes for a few seconds before looking away.

She couldn't even remember now why she had been so mad at him. She knew she had been, she hadn't felt that angry in a long time. But the subtleties of the reasons why now eluded her.

"Fine, was that all?" she asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

"Great, thanks. Friends then?" he said with a grin, offering her a handshake. She looked at his hand like it was an previously unseen animal. Naruto found himself blinking at her reaction.

"No?" he asked beginning to feel embarrassed.

"I don't shake" she replied, looking up from his hand, her cool expression returning over her surprised expression.

"Oh, sorry." Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head "Sorry, slipped my mind." Satellizer turned again to face forwards, away from the wall she sat against.

"Look, you seem nice. I appreciate what you're trying to do but…" she began. She was going to tell him to leave her alone, she wasn't the friend he was looking to make but strangely she found herself unwilling to carry out the order.

"But?" Naruto asked , an eyebrow raised. There was a pause between the two before Naruto got to his feet.

"I get it. You think you're fine on your own right?" he asked as he brushed his pants where he had sat. "But I'm sorry, that's a load of crap, plus you seem nice. Though don't get me wrong I'm now curious why you cause mass panic, but I suppose that's because nothing I have seen is anything other than… well nice" he said turning and beginning to walk away "I'll see you later, Satellizer-sempai" he said with a smile before disappearing through the door and down the stairs.

Satellizer sat there in the silence of her own company unsure of what to think. At first she was thinking how annoying that kid was, but her thoughts soon did a one eighty and she found herself wishing he had stayed a little longer.

She clenched a fist. She hated being touched. She detested the feeling more than almost anything else. She didn't notice however until having met that boy however how much her loneliness had been suffocating her. She only felt lonely when someone who could really see her, was looking at her or was walking away from her. She bent her knees up and rested her arms across them, laying her head across her folded arms.

'_Being alone sucks_' she thought to herself glumly.

* * *

All too soon Naruto found himself lining up as they were leaving the facility. There was an airship outside that would be taking them to the forest of death. Around them many had come to see them off. To his left he saw Elizabeth and Arnett who gave him a nod and a thumbs up respectively. He returned them with his trademark grin. To his right Chiffon and Ticy stood and offered him a wave which he returned.

"Alright maggots, attention!" barked an order from the front. All at once all people in front and behind him straightened up, arms falling sharply to their sides.

"You will board the plane, you will take the furthest available seat, you will address me as Ma'am and you will pray to whatever god you think is going to save your worthless behinds five minutes ago, do you understand!?" the voice barked.

"We understand, Ma'am" the group shouted as a group

"You all might want to grow a pair in the next five minutes if that's all you got. Alright move out!" came the harsh voice. Naruto had to resist a smirk to her comment as he began to jog forwards. As he came out of the building he noticed the instructor was a fierce looking woman, with she purple hair held up, a tan long coat and skirt and a fishnet and leggings. The airship was revving it's propellers as it sat in front of the building in the large courtyard. Across which a figure caught Naruto's eye. It was Satellizer who he could just make out gave him a nod of her own. He grinned before jumping into the ship and buckling himself up. Around him were nervous faces as they looked about them. It was clearly a western vehicle. Konoha didn't own anything like this.

The instructor jumped into the ship and slid the door shut behind her. In the next moments Naruto felt an uncomfortable sudden jerk as it rose into the sky.

"In exactly 3 minutes many of you will be entering the Forest of Death, the rest of you get to listen to the screams and wait your turn like good little girls" the instructor barked at them as they all sat, bolted into their seats within aircraft. "You should already know but I'll go over it one more time. This will be a live combat exercise, you will fight with killing intent, everyone else is your enemy, you will fight anything on two legs, do not hesitate and you might get to leave not in a body bag, you hear me?!" she barked.

"We hear you Ma'am" came a unanimous chorus from the ship. The noise from the ship was so loud that Naruto could barely hear himself think. He felt the adrenaline rush into his body, the world was moving so quickly around him yet noiselessly due to the ship drowning out all other audio. He could see people with their eyes closed, others were crying. Sasuke caught his eye and they both grinned at each other.

"This is the captain speaking, prepared for drop. D in 10 and counting" came a voice over the audio. The instructor grinned a smirk that made Naruto's skin crawl.

"Alright ladies, you're on an express elevator to hell. Going Down!" she laughed.

At that movement Naruto felt his seat click, in the next moment he was falling through the floor he was falling bolted into his chair through the now open air. Above him the ship surge onwards, small dots falling behind it, presumably other students. In the distance he could hear a mixture of screams and excited yells. Suddenly his seat clicked and above him a large parachute sprouted causing him to suddenly slow his fall. He sailed silently over the forest as he began to fall below the tree line.

'_Let the games begin_' he thought, struggling for freedom from his seat. As he did so it clicked again, and the harnesses spread. Looking about him for a branch to leap to, he slid out from the straps and leapt for the trees.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Llleeeeeet's get ready to Ruuuuuumbllllle!" Arnett squealed as she sat herself down in front of the large screen. The screen came to life with several images on the screen, each live feeds following a different student. The side of the screen shown a list of what Elizabeth predicted to be about half of the students, presumably the active ones.

She was quite surprised by how publicised they were making it. Normally the carnivals were only viewable from one angle and it was the one where you rarely saw anything. The footage only became available on the academy's intranet after it had been edited. She would dwell more on that later, for now she fumbled with her remote and found she had more camera's to browse. She looked down the list of names. Both Naruto and Sasuke were active. Pressing on their names she found two of the four available angles switched to view them. She saw Naruto leap out of his seat as it fell into the tree's, meanwhile Sasuke was still falling.

"Jeez! They were thrown out of that ship?" Arnett practically cackled "That's insane" she added gleefully.

"It certainly is a step up from the sort of thing we're used to" Creo commented.

"I'm beginning to think to expect anything in this Carnival would be unwise" Elizabeth added nonchalantly.

"Agreed" Attia piped "So far they haven't done a single thing in the traditional way"

Just then the door opened and Chiffon and Ticy appeared through it.

"Do you mind if we watch the Carnival with you girls? Everywhere else seems to be at capacity" Chiffon asked, her ever present smile on as always. Behind her Ticy had the confidence of a timid mouse.

"Of course" Elizabeth said with a gesture "Please take a seat" she offered gesturing around. Her reputation had afforded her the luxury that no one in her year or below would have the nerve to ask. But Chiffon was always an exception, as she was to many rules. Besides, she wasn't so uncouth as to deny the student body President even if she wasn't her favourite person in the world.

"Oh, I see you girls have taken an interest in Uzumaki-kun and Uchiha-kun" she said gesturing at the screen. Elizabeth considered for a moment in playing it down but she had no intention of changing her focus on the screen.

"We are. Who isn't curious to see what Itachi-sempai's brother can do" she replied coolly.

"And Uzumaki-kun?" Chiffon pressed. Elizabeth couldn't help but think it was quite uncharacteristic of Chiffon to press for details. But then, she had a pretty good idea as to why in this case.

"Oh, Arnett has a crush on him" she said with a smile. Arnett who had been eagerly watching the screen snapped her head around, her cheeks practically glowing.

"What?!" she yelled.

* * *

Naruto climbed to the highest point of the tallest tree immediately around him. As he looked around he saws parachutes in every direction falling from the sky.

'_Great, I'm at the epicentre_' he thought, well aware his fighting style wasn't exactly subtle either. '_Still there's no good in complaining about it now, let's see whose around then shall we?_' he thought forming his signature seal.

With a poof of smoke several clones surrounded him. With a wave of his arm then each picked a direction and ran and leapt off. As he did so he reached for a scroll from his pouch . Pulling it out he opened it a little and activated the seal, summoning two elongated chakra blades. Useful tools he had learnt to use, if nothing else they served simply to deceive the enemy of his fighting style. Re-pouching his scroll and taking a blade in each hand he scanned around himself. To the west there was a river and north up the river was the center tower. Whether it was part of the 'active terrain' or not it was likely to be explored by many parties and so while he was fighting fit, it would be an idea to head toward it.

He leapt down from, his perch towards the river. Behind him a clone poof'ed out of existence and revealed that Shikamaru was in that direction. He didn't alter course, partly not wanting to fight an old friend if he could help it, partly knowing fully well Shikamaru could have set up a trap for him to fall right into.

As he ran and leapt forwards through the tree's he became aware of a spot in the sky. As he looked at it it seemed to hover soundlessly meters above the trees but looking at him. It took a minute before he realised it was a camera. Another poof brought him back to reality. Sasuke was north and dispatched the clone with a sword before it was able to release itself. Naruto grinned.

"Game on Sasuke!" he said to himself. At that moment a flash came from the left. He kicked off at an angle twisting himself to avoid sharp blades that hissed as they cut through the air. Landing on the next branch he looked at the source.

"As expected, nice dodge Naruto-san" Shino said. Naruto knelt looking down at another old friend. This one had allowed the clone ahead to go on. He was pretty astute. But Naruto was no fool either. He rose and looked around

"Got friends around these parts?" Naruto asked "I'm betting that you have" he said taking a stance.

"As expected, your training with Jiraiya-sama has broadened your knowledge and experience" he said stoically. As he finished Naruto noticed things emerging from the shadows of the trees around him. There were several of them, they had to be at least six feet tall. They resembled an insect Naruto knew as the praying mantis but their mouth area was much more fierce some than their smaller cousins.

"Well of course, we wouldn't want things to be too easy" he said with a grin. Leaping down he landed in the middle of them. Shino leapt up and back, unsure of what Naruto was planning he didn't intend to be catch up in it. Naruto took his stance and turned his head to see what was behind him.

The first bug swung a huge bladed limb at him. Naruto darted under the swing and slashed at the creature, cutting into its body and causing it let loose a hiss of pain. Meanwhile Shino let loose a spray of kunai, causing Naruto to weave his blades to deflect what he could, leaping out of the way of the others. I mid-air he flourished his blades to deflect the next swing of the bug now upon him, using the weight behind it's swing to change his momentum, bringing him back down to the ground. He leaned forwards as another bladed limb swung at him this time from behind, as he did so he moved his right leg forward and ducked below the first bug's arm, turning he drove one of his blades into where he was hoping it's heart was. He darted around the falling creature's body and stabbed the one that had tried to attack him from behind through the side. He then immediately leapt up back into the trees.

Shino look tried to follow him but lost him in the branches and leaves. He looked down and saw the remaining insects leaving. He wasn't surprised, they weren't stupid. Naruto had proved to be surprising adept in close quarters though he was never Shino's first choice as an enemy.

Naruto shot forwards out of the branches in front of him blades drawn. Kunai met blade as Shino parried the slash, only for Naruto to let of the blade and seized Shino's wrist. Naruto's second blade found it's mark in Shino's chest. However Shino disperse into a thousand bugs who swarmed Naruto who quickly also burst out of existence.

The real Shino watched as this happened and began to send out bug in every direction to find Naruto. He began to weigh his options, fighting Naruto though exhilarating he deduced had only one outcome. He would put himself in a better position to find another opponent. Rather than one he could not win against.

Too late he heard the rustles behind him, he turned just in time to see a blue ball of swirling chakra collided into him. The force send him hurtling into a nearby tree with a bone shattering smash.

Moments late lights shone on the now unconscious Shino and Naruto could hear the faint sounds of a spinning blades approaching. With a sudden though Naruto looked up, and realising the sky was blocked by the tree's he leapt higher. Upon reaching the top he scanned the skies for another parachute, but didn't find one. He frowned, now totally unsure how new combatants would be entering the Forest if not in that way.

'_Still, I suppose that would be a suicide drop for someone_' he thought not loving the idea if it were him that several people would immediately swarm to his position, maybe even shoot him out of the sky whilst still bolted in.

And then it happened. He heard the sound that had occasionally haunted his nightmares and in the past caused his balls to retreat back inside his body.

"CHHAAAAA!" he turned only in time to see a black gloved fist collide with his torso. He felt every atom of air leave his body before being sent literally flying backwards through the forest behind crashing into and then through a tree branch before free falling from there. His body felt like it had been pinched flat by some almighty giant. His spine rang with pain, he felt a deep and painful throbbing at his chest and warm liquid fill his mouth.

He squinted to focus his blurred vision to see the pink haired bitch leaping right toward him. As she swung again for him he jerked his head back, avoiding what could have been his deathblow by a hair's breadth. He felt her fist brush past his cheek. He didn't wasted his chance and using his motion of his head spinning down and his legs coming up he kicked her face as much to create distance as to attack her back. He grabbed onto the first branch he came to and swung around it to send him back up, and then landed on it. Sakura had landed on an opposing tree and was wiping her face, her expression hard, but satisfied. She knew how good that first hit had been. Naruto was still wheezing and he clutched his chest when that moment that turned his day into a bad day occurred. A light caught his eye from his right. He turned to see several fireballs hurtling toward him. With some effort he leapt upwards to avoid the explosion that consumed the branch he had been standing on as foot came out of the branched and hit him in the exact place Sakura's fist had been seconds ago.

'_Come on!_' he mentally screamed in anguish. His eyes widened in pain and blood flowed from his open mouth. Blue eyes momentarily met red ones as Sasuke's smirking face emerged too. Sasuke snapped his other foot and dealt Naruto a kick to the side of the head that sent him spinning through the leaves and branches.

Sasuke landed on a Branch and turned to see Sakura looked right back. For a moment her expression lifted, before it steeled over once more.

"Seems like we're having a little reunion here" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"I was just thinking that" Sakura said, her serious expression unwavering.

"I was just thinking that you guys are assholes" Naruto yelled breathlessly from below.

* * *

As Naruto dispatched his first opponent Arnett loudly screamed at the screen.

"Yes! Come on Naruto!" she cried with delight.

"He's quite talented" Chiffon commented to Ticy who merely nodded with a smile.

Elizabeth said nothing but inside she was quite impressed with how skilfully he had handled himself. Of course those insects would be child's play to a Pandora such as any of those in the room that had mastered Accel Turn. However even without it he had done it seemingly effortlessly. She was even more interested in his spherical ability, what she deduced was the 'shape manipulation' part of his description and even more so with his shadow clones. Using them to scout around him was an intelligent move. He wasn't stupid at all.

"Even so, those bugs are going to haunt my nightmares now" Attia said weakly "I didn't know such things even existed" she muttered. Before anyone could commented however they all fell silent, all eyes glued to the screen as Sakura dealt a powerhouse blow to Naruto. Elizabeth leant forward, her eyes wide.

Fortunately he was able to gain distance from her before she could finish him. At first Elizabeth thought it would simply be a gut punch, but after seeing how far it knocked him, her own battle experienced told her that it was an earth shattering blow. In fact she hadn't even seen Creo knock someone that far away before.

It was then she realised that the two images on the screen began to show the same picture. Naruto was barely able to avoid the flames but unable to avoid Sasuke who at first seemingly finished it in that instant. Arnett clambered up to screen

"Oh, no no no no no no!" she said over and over desperately

"Get down you idiot!" Attia yelled, pulling the red-head off so they could see.

"Who knew we'd get our answer this quickly" Creo thought aloud.

"No fair, that frumpy bitch just decked him one!" Arnett whined from Attia grip.

"Still counts" Attia pointed out with a smug grin

"It's unfortunate for Uzumaki-san to be caught between the 1st and 2nd rated rookies" Chiffon said sadly.

"1st and 2nd rated?" Creo asked with a frown.

"Yes, Sakura is the apprentice of the Konoha hokage, Tsunade-sama, while Sasuke is the now sole pupil of the infamous Copy-cat ninja, Hatake Kakashi. Together they are thought to be among the strongest students sent to this academy by Konoha since Itachi-sempai. They are even considered more prominent than Neji-kun." She explained, her face one of worry for once.

Elizabeth absorbed this new information and looked back at the screen. Neither one had budged an inch. This must have been the battle no one thought would happen until someone challenged someone in their new Amphitheatre. But here it was, among the first fights of the entire year and Naruto was caught right in the middle. Elizabeth took a deep breath and tried to focus instead on Sasuke. This would be her best chance to see his true capabilities. But even if she told herself that, she still found herself glancing at Naruto.

* * *

Naruto's breathing eased slightly as they remained still. No one willing to make the first move as they each knew it would expose them. But all that worked out just fine for Naruto. The longer they waiting the more damage he could heal.

'_Come on you stupid fox_' he thought to himself as his eyes shifted between the two. Like him Sasuke's onyx eyes flickered from Naruto to Sakura. Sakura looked from Sasuke to Naruto.

Half a minute passed with the standoff going nowhere when Sakura smiled. Both eyes fixed on her when she shot backwards forming a seal as she disappeared into the bush. Sasuke shot downwards towards Naruto who was one just able to react in time, so distracted by Sakura. Sasuke shot several swift jabs and kicks, most of which Naruto was able to avoid, but still winded and against the Sharingan wielding Sasuke he wasn't quite able to keep up. He leapt backwards forming his shadow clone seal. As he did so Sasuke rushed through his own seals then releasing a gout of flames that engulfed everything before him. As quickly as they had been made, Naruto's clones were incinerated, but then at least had enough time to thrown Naruto himself above the destruction.

As he ascended he turned to see Sakura coming for him and in mid-air he had no way to avoid her. Quickly her seized a handful of shuriken from his pouch and hurled them at her. From below several kunai intercepted them, cancelled their momentum and sending the freefalling downwards. Naruto braced himself for another bruised when a thunderous explosion from Sakura's side sent her smashed into a tree and away from Naruto. Sasuke smirked as his explosive tag had gone unnoticed.

Naruto himself was send backwards by the blast. Using his arms he spun in the air to face the direction he was moving and quickly grabbed onto the tree. No sooner had he done so and looked down when Sasuke was upon him, sword draw. Naruto plucked a chakra blade from his leg strap and met Sasuke's blade head on, parrying it. Using brute strength he force Sasuke's back to create some distance between them. He panted, his wheeze still affecting him and Sasuke knew it. Sasuke was composed and unscratched. He had the luxury to carefully analyse his situation and attack when it suited him.

A thud from the tree across from them, a little worse for wear, Sakura landed and cracked her knuckles. Her forehead seal was active, her flesh was already sizzling as it healed rapidly.

"Scary, scary Sakura-chan. Your healing is even better than mind" Naruto said calmly. "Between than and you're being stronger, and Sasuke being faster what have you guys left for me?" he said feigning disappointment with a smile.

"Well you don't have looks, that's for sure" Sasuke mocked, his smirk resurfacing.

"You don't have talent" Sakura added

"Or a sense of fashion" Sasuke continued.

"You do have B.O." Sakura offered

"That's true, it's very distracting actually" Sasuke commented

"It makes my tears well up" Sakura finished. Naruto face faulted.

"Why are you two ganging up on me?!" Naruto whined. Sasuke shrugged and Sakura didn't budge an inch. "I ought to be used to this by now" Naruto grumbled.

In his mind he was desperately trying to think of his options. Sakura was trying to capitalise on her early advantage, unfortunately the two people who knew about his regenerative abilities were his enemies. They would be coming after him first because of this. But still they were each other's enemies too, as proven by Sasuke they would attack each other whenever such an opportunity presented itself. He had to create an opportunity for Sakura to attack Sasuke. Sakura's healing was even more potent than his own so attacks of opportunity would probably be meaningless to her. Every scratch Sasuke suffered however would matter. He'd have to go for a battle of attrition.

Sakura made the first move again and leapt right for Sasuke. Naruto didn't waste the chance and made some shadow clones. Sasuke responded with a barrage of kunai at Sakura, who they passed right through. It was a clone. Naruto formed a rasengan and charged for Sasuke while one copy when up, the other down. Sasuke gritted his teeth and leapt away, frantically looking for the real Sakura his eyes flared red once more as they scanned all directions as he fled from the Naruto hot on his heels. He sheathed his sword and rushed through more seals, again he send a fireball at Naruto, who responded by holding his rasengan ahead of himself. The orbs scattered the flames causing Sasuke to scowl.

"CHHAAAA" came that horrifying noise right before bone-crunching pain ensued. This time it was Sasuke who was looking at the wrong place at the wrong time. His head spun around to behold the pink haired kunoichi as her fist shot forward. Faster than Naruto however Sasuke was able to intercept her, grabbing her wrist he flipped himself overhead kicked her in the back to push her into Naruto and himself away. Sakura's eyes widened and Naruto grinned as he thrust his rasengan forward.

Sasuke landed on the side of a tree, using his chakra to stick to it. He turned and watched the impact which again sent Sakura flying. As the sound of splintering wood filled the forest he was barely able to hear the sound of the second rasengan. Again his sharingan saved him and he was able to leap away from the tree as another Naruto nearly fell on him, rasengan in hand. As he flew through the air the familiar sound of a kunai cutting through the air caught his attention from below. His sharingan active he was able to see the explosive tag clearly. He threw a kunai of his own to deflect it away from him, they the clanged in mid-air he could still hear that whirring.

'_Oh, Shi-_' he began to think as the second one he didn't see from above exploded.

The three Naruto all joined in the middle level of where their battle had been taking place. He looked at either enemy. Sakura was already rising to her feet, though that hit had been as good a hit as he could ask for and even she was shaken from it. Sasuke was burnt and searing, though he was more in pain than actually injured. Even so, he definitely had the advantage for now. The icing on the cake was he was beginning to feel less strain from breathing now too.

Sasuke struggled to his feet but then something else caught Naruto's attention. On the ground level several people had come running, an alliance perhaps of some sort. It was only then Naruto realised how loud their battle must have been. He looked at Sasuke; he was in no condition to battle further this very minute. He bit his lip. Another minute and he'd have won, but he wasn't about to surrender his victory to some people who had decided to group up. He looked over to Sakura who was already leaping away, she looked back and their eyes met briefly. She was in no condition to fight either but she was good enough to run. Naruto looked back and the group had begun to ascend to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Fine then!" he yelled as much to the random chance that had brought them here at this exact moment as to anything else. One clone darted towards Sasuke as Naruto throw smoke bombs to cloud their vision. At least from below they didn't know Sasuke's exact position or condition. The clone grabbed Sasuke and lifted him onto his back.

"Wha-What are you doing, idiot?" Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth.

"When you are beaten, it'll be me that does it, and no one else. I'll get you away from these opportunists for now, but you better pay me back by lasting long enough to come back and lose properly!" the Naruto clone said, with a grin. Sasuke just stared at him as they fled through the smoke, toward the river

"You are such an idiot it physically hurts me that I hang out with you so much" he groaned.

Naruto dropped down and as he fell he drew both his chakra blades once more. He talked tough to Sasuke but he wasn't sure there would be a rematch now, before the smoke obscured everything he counted seven of them. That meant seven of them at least, who knew how strong they would be. He kept the other clone active and hid him for a potential all important save. He fell out of the smokes mist and onto the ground with a thud. Before him four of them had remained on the ground level. He didn't immediately recognise any of them which told him they were probably westerners. He took his stance, he'd never actually battled a Pandora before.

"Down here!" one of them yelled. Naruto watched as three came down through the smoke.

'_Seven, perfect_' he thought sarcastically to himself, though glad he didn't have to worry about further surprise attacks. He counted six girls and one boy who he gathered possessed different abilities.

"So you guys are Pandora" he said giving them a hard look "You strong?"

"What do you think? One shot back.

"I think seven on one is unfair" he replied honestly.

"Seven on three" she corrected pointing upwards

"No, seven on one, the other two legged it" Naruto corrected. As he said so they traded looked and the boy nodded.

'_You're the sensor then, eh?_' he thought.

"It's a commonly used tactic" she defended.

"So then that makes it not unfair?" Naruto said with a grin. She frowned.

"No it- look I – You-" she stammered

"Don't get sucked into his sophistry" another said "He's stalling" Naruto looked at her blankly

"My what?" he asked, his expression blank

"Enough! Attack!" she snapped. Suddenly they each materialised a weapon. Naruto looked from one to the other.

'_Volt weapons, eh?_' he concluded. "Very well, let's begin" he said beginning to run right at them. Their expressions changed as he did so going from a determined scowl to wider eyes as they instinctively moved away save the closest two.

The first swing her sword at Naruto's head from his left side which he parried with his right, then keeping their weapons locked dragged it away from her body as he slashed her body with his left weapon. The blood splattered into the air, and seemingly unified the group. An overhead swing from the middle was too slow for Naruto, he continuing his run forward leaped around her side and jabbed a blade down her shoulder. Behind him now the boy extended his arm. Naruto didn't know what he was up to but threw one of his blades into the boy's body. A spear from his right, he darted to the side and seized the spear, holding it firm her dragged her forward and slashed at her too, then throwing the spear as it began to disintegrate at a new attacker from his left, instinctively she ducked and Naruto kicked the dirt in her face slashing her down in that instant of befuddlement too.

There were two left now, they traded petrified glances as all around them lights engulfed their allies, acting as the beacon for medical evacuation.

The two remaining girls screamed as they charged at him and a thud behind him told him that there was another among them. The first girl swung at him with a spiked mace, which he deflected in the direction she swung it, dragged her behind him, he turned to deflect the sword for the other the brought her blade across her body eliminating her too. A rough swing back of his arm brought his elbow colliding with the first girls head, disorientating her for a moment as he turned to face the hidden girl who lunged at him with her weapon, he darted to the side and gripped her in his arm in a headlock as he spun to slash and the mace wielding girl, as he did so he released the headlock and brought his blade back and cut her down to in his final motion.

Naruto panted heavily the adrenaline surging throughout his body he looked about him at all the fallen comrades. The lights enveloped them all now and he could hear the whirring of the blades of the helicopters coming to take them. Unable to stand the sight of it, and knowing they would be saved any moment, he turned and ran away. Nausea caused by the thick smell of blood and the screams and wails and cries began to settle deep into his soul.

* * *

The girls watched the battle rage on with bated breath. Emotions were high in the room, infact the tension was positively palpable Elizabeth thought. She was almost amused at how evenly the three fought, at any one moment the one who had the upper hand, had it by who was attacking who. Still she had to say, Sasuke was clearly more adapt than the other two in battle finesse. The girl who revealed to have healing powers that would probably even impress Roxanne however had that to make up for such an advantage. Naruto also seemed to be far more durable than he looked. Beyond that fact that their combined attacks should have floored him to begin with, he was quick to not just recover, but seemingly heal from the injury. This combination of strengths and weaknesses made for a battle she found herself on the edge of her seat in watching.

Sasuke was the most skilled it seemed but he was also the only one who had no ability to recover from injuries which was a very rare gift in itself but when both enemies possessed it, his not having it turned it into a weakness. He was able to get by from sheer speed and she imagined that at times it was actually his sharingan that saved him but even so, if he didn't end things fast enough he couldn't stay in it against those two.

Sakura was clearly the strongest physically and her ability to heal was almost as frightening as her physical power, however those were the only things in her corner against the others. If Elizabeth had to say she would put Sakura as the weakest of the three from what she had seen so far based purely on her lack of diversity compared to the others.

Lastly Naruto was, despite all logic, reason and expectation, seemingly the most intelligent fighter. He had it rough in the beginning as they both obviously targeted him, which she supposed was only natural to try to finish off someone before they could recuperate. Sasuke's little sneak attack on Sakura however clearly triggered animosity which cost him the skirmish. While not as durable as Sakura seemed to be, Naruto was still very tough compared to Sasuke and conversely while not as skilled as Sasuke he was very skilled compared to Sakura. This made him the most rounded fighter which in this particular type of battle, made him the strongest in Elizabeth's eyes. Though she wasn't sure he could best Sasuke one on one, that would be a very interesting battle.

As Naruto seemingly emerged victorious if only temporarily Arnett squealed with delight

"See?! Told you, told you!" she insisted down Attia hear, who covered her ears up and scowled.

"Shut up, he hasn't won yet!" she retorted, clearly annoyed.

"But as the only one with a knockout he is ahead by the points" Creo pointed out.

All eyes now turned to the score board. At the top is Inuzuka Kiba with 40 points, a few places down Naruto is in 4th with 20. Sasuke and Sakura are both further down with 10.

"They only have points for using abilities so far." Creo pointed out.

"Looks like trouble" Chiffon said, pointing at the screen. Attention shifted back to the screen as Sakura fled, and a Naruto took Sasuke and fled. Below them the screen shown several new enemies.

"What a time... wait, what is Naruto doing helping Sasuke?!" Arnett shouted, pointing at the screen.

"Protecting his friend" Chiffon said simply. All eyes turned on her for a moment. "They are best friends and they were having a good battle where they went all out. It makes sense for Uzumaki-kun to want to win like that. Not have his hand forced due to others." She explained.

"But is that okay?" Ticy asked uncertainly "I mean, there are only a few I can think of who as first years could take out so many at the same time" she said looking back to the screen, resisting the memory of that dark day she saw first-hand when someone did.

"For Uzumaki-kun this desire to preserve the honour of that battle is more important than how he is defeated." She said with certainty. Then realising how she sound she laughed nervously "Well that is what I think may be how Uzumaki-kun feels" she stammered. Elizabeth looked back at the monitor silently agreeing with Chiffon.

'_Well, you've got guts Naruto. I like that_' she thought, allowing herself a smile '_Even if you lose here… I want you_' she decided with a small nod to herself. A deep warmth of happiness that she might finally have found 'him' radiated from her heart and caused her smile to grow uncontrollably.

On screen the new battle began. The group watched in silence as the other side of Naruto's battle style was revealed. Elizabeth looked on in silent shock.

'_His speed… this skill… has he really healed so much in such a short time from fighting Sasuke and Sakura_' as she watched him cut them down, one by one she shook her head to herself '_No, that's not it he's no faster or skilled now than before, it's his ferocity._' She concluded. Whatever training he had done in the past was surfacing now. The way he moved was so fluid, it was like watching someone who had done it a thousand times. He weaved in an out of attack ranges, manipulating the inexperience of his enemies to cut them each down with a single strike.

As she continued to watch she came to realise the difference in battle styles was the difference in desperation. Against the others who were in the same league as Naruto himself it was a struggle just to hold on. All his training was potentially moot because he would be force into situations he'd never been in before; ones a person cannot train for. But against these who were actually far beneath him in terms of sheer skill. It wasn't a question of his being faster or stronger than they were. She could see in how he was moving he was still having problems breathing properly and so this was clearly not the case. But they were so inexperienced compared to him that it became a slaughter. Compared to their clunky and hesitant moves his movements were like poetry.

After the bloody skirmish was concluded Arnett let out a low whistle.

"Let's see Sasuke do THAT!" she said with a sadistic laugh. "See that, Elizabeth? Our boy has got moves!"

"That was impressive" Creo admitted "His speed needs work, but he expertly exploited the flaws of his enemies" she said folding her arms. Arnett began frantically pointing towards the shifting leader board.

"Hey, Attia can you read who is at the top, I can't see very well" she asked feigning complaining as she squinted at the screen with her hand over her eyes to shield them from an imaginary light.

"Shut up…" Attia growled. Now leading the board Naruto sat on 460 points, a high amount awarded for defeating so many enemies at once.

"Uzumaki-kun really is incredible" Chiffon said in awe "To earn so many points at once…" Ticy nodded

"Who'd have thought it…" she added, staring at the screen. Elizabeth had to actively resist rolling her eyes. She didn't want to hear THAT from Chiffon of all people. Still, however hypocritical that statement was, Chiffon was correct. It was rare for even a high ranking third year to score so many points in one game, never mind in one skirmish. Still, it was far from over and he fought evenly with Sakura and Sasuke. It was still all to play for.

**Author Notes:** Well I had wanted to write the Carnival in one chapter but it is already pretty long and I guesstimate that it's at least plus half as long as this one already is. Feedback is welcome, please make it constructive. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and continue to enjoy!

P.S. - Some of you noticed I'm certain about the spelling and grammar mistakes, just saying, still looking for a proof reader! PM me! Thanks!


	5. Update Information

**Author Note: **Hey guys, I realise it has been awhile since my last update. I'm sorry to say I'll have to ask you to wait a little longer. I'm working 68 hours this week which is leaving littler time for me to sleep, never mind write.

The ordeal ends the 8th so expect the next chapter soon after that. Apologies again for the wait, and thank you for your patience!

P.S – Thank you for the reviews, those of you who have written I am doing my utmost to recognise what you are saying and act upon it.

See you all again soon!


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